Creative activities part of Arts Week in Gaylord

GAYLORD — Several activities to celebrate Arts Week have been scheduled by the Gaylord Area Council for the Arts (GACA) beginning today (Saturday) through Saturday, Oct. 8.

The annual event provides area artists with the opportunity to showcase their talents with the community.

• A new exhibition begins today with the opening of GACA’s “Ninth Annual Juried Fine Arts Exhibit” at the GACA Community Arts Center, 125 E. Main St. The exhibition runs through Nov. 8.

The public is invited to attend a special awards presentation and artist reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8, at the arts center.

Vivi Woodcock, of Petoskey, is this year’s juried art judge and chose the pieces for this year’s exhibition.

The reception will include appetizers, desserts and wine. There is no charge to attend.

Artwork showcased in the new exhibition includes abstract works, portraits, landscapes and more in a variety of media including watercolors, oils and acrylics by Northern Michigan artists.

• Preschool-age children will have the opportunity to express their creativity Tuesday, Oct. 4, from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Gaylord Discovery Center, 913 S. Otsego Ave.

Children, ages 3 and 4, are invited to attend the free activity, a hands-on mosaic art project, that will be supervised by GACA volunteers. The mosaic art project is the first of eight weekly sessions, which is part of a new Art Club at the Discovery Center.

The event is free. Parents should call GACA at 732-3242 to register.

• “Rubens and More” features a luncheon and guest speaker, Dr. Yao-Fen You, Detroit Institute of Arts assistant curator of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, at the Otsego Club Friday, Oct. 7, beginning at 11:30 a.m. Cost for the event is $30 per person and includes lunch.

Dr. You will discuss several forms of art including paintings, sculptures and tapestries.

Tickets for this special afternoon may be purchased at the GACA Community Arts Center and Saturn Booksellers. For more information, call GACA at 732-3242 or visit www.gaylordarts.org.

• Although not taking place during Arts Week, GACA invites the community to a concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30, at the Gornick Auditorium at Gaylord High School to hear the all-volunteer Northern Michigan Brass Band, conducted by Ralph Schweigert.

Members of the band, which formed in 1999, come from all over Northern Michigan and include retired band directors, doctors, lawyers, teachers and former military bandsmen.

Cost for the concert is $10 for adults and $8 for seniors ages 65 and older. There is no cost for students. Tickets may be purchased at the GACA Community Arts Center, Saturn Booksellers or at the door the day of the concert.

The activities presented during Arts Week were made possible in part by a grant from the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts.